View Basket
Necklace project from the Complete Guide to Wire and Beaded Jewellery by Linda Jones |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Summer Seashell Necklace |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| With its pale, sun-bleached colors, this casual corded necklace has a lovely summery feel—the perfect way to show off a light tan! You can buy pre-drilled shells from bead suppliers. Alternatively, use shells that you’ve picked up from the beach; place a piece of masking tape over the shell and carefully drill through with a very fine drill bit—and expect some breakages, as shells are incredibly fragile. The necklace is fastened by attaching the fish-hook clasp to any point between the knots in the cord. | |||||||||||||||||||||
You will need |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 1) To make the eye for the fish-hook clasp, wrap 20-gauge (0.8 mm) wire around the tip of your round-nose pliers ten to twelve times to make a tight, even coil about 1⁄4 in. (6 mm) long. The coil needs to be wide enough to slide onto doubled-up cord. Alternatively, wrap the wire around a knitting needle or a mandrel. |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| These delicate little shell beads simply cry out to be strung on natural-colored cord or leather: a metal chain would look far too heavy. | |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2) Cut cord three times as long as you want the necklace to be. Slide the wire coil onto the cord. Feed the cord back on itself, through the coil, to form a loop | 3)Using flat-nose pliers, squeeze the first and last loop of the coil tightly onto the cord to fix it firmly in place. If you wish, add a little Superglue for extra strength. |
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 4) Thread the shells with 24-gauge (0.6 mm) wire, forming a head pin at one end and a link at the other (see pages 180 and 181). Thread several small shells onto one wire and add turquoise seed beads. | 5) Make jump rings (see page 182) from 20-gauge (0.8mm) wire and loop them through the top links of the shells. Fasten the jump rings around the cord and close with flat-nose pliers, knotting the cord on each side to hold the shells in position. In places, group two or three shells together for added fullness. | ||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 6) Following the instructions in step 1, make a coil of wire that is just wide enough to slip over the cord, leaving about 1 in. (2.5 cm) protruding. With your round-nose pliers, curl a tiny loop at the end of the protruding wire. | |||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 7) Place the widest part of the round-nose pliers under the loop, and form a fish-hook clasp | 8) Bend the fish-hook clasp so that it sits vertically above the coil. Work-harden the hook. | ||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| 9) Slide the clasp onto the end of the cord and squeeze the last loop of the coil with flat-nose pliers. | 10) Using jump rings, connect and suspend a bunch of linked shells from the end of the loop. Images © Cico Books, text © Linda Jones
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
£14.99 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
  |
|
|